Lionsgate Studios saw revenue jump 18% to $724 million with operating income at $85 million, well above Wall Street forecasts, in a solid FY26 third quarter. The company’s fiscal year ends in March. Motion Picture revenue of $421 million grew by 35% year-over-year driven by the releases of The Housemaid and Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. The Housemaid came out December 19 so had just 12 days of domestic box office reflected in Q3 with most of the contribution hitting in the current fourth quarter and into ...

Core Viewpoint - Amazon's shares experienced a significant decline following the release of mixed fourth-quarter earnings and an aggressive forecast for AI spending in 2026, which exceeded analyst expectations by a substantial margin [1][2]. Financial Performance - Revenue for the fourth quarter rose 14% year-over-year to $213.4 billion, slightly surpassing Wall Street analysts' consensus estimates [1]. - Earnings per share for the quarter were reported at $1.95 on a diluted basis, missing expectations by one cent [1]. Stock Market Reaction - Amazon's stock fell 4% during regular trading and an additional 7% in after-hours trading after the earnings report was released [2]. AI Investment Strategy - The company announced plans to invest $200 billion in AI by 2026, which is over $55 billion more than what analysts had anticipated [2]. - CEO Andy Jassy emphasized that the substantial capital expenditure is justified by strong demand for existing offerings and significant opportunities in AI, chips, robotics, and low earth orbit satellites [4]. Advertising and Viewership Growth - The holiday quarter saw Prime Video achieve record viewership for Thursday Night Football, averaging 15.33 million viewers per game across 15 regular-season games [5]. - Prime Video also began streaming NBA games as part of an 11-year deal initiated last October [5]. - Advertising revenue for Prime increased by 22% year-over-year, reaching $21.3 billion, marking the latest in a series of quarterly increases exceeding 20% [6].

AI industry vet Kathleen Grace has been named Lionsgate‘s first Chief AI Officer. In the new position, Grace will work closely with Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns and other senior leaders across the studio to lead its AI strategy and executive, and provide tools to serve the creative vision of its filmmakers, create opportunities for new efficiencies in its production, marketing, distribution and administrative operations, and spearhead initiatives to protect the IP of the studio and its talent par ...

Core Insights - Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) reported revenues of $2.3 billion for its fiscal third quarter, reflecting a 12% year-over-year decline [1] - Operating income for the same period was $197 million, down 11% compared to the previous year [1] - Parent company Sony Group experienced a 22% increase in profits during the quarter, supported by growth in its music, gaming, and imaging divisions [1] Revenue and Performance - The decline in SPE's revenue was attributed to lower sales, despite a reduction in marketing costs for theatrical releases [2] - In the previous year, SPE benefited from the success of "Venom: The Last Dance," which grossed $478 million globally [2] - The top-performing release in the most recent quarter was "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc," which earned $117 million worldwide [2] Future Outlook - SPE maintained its full-year guidance, indicating stability in its projections despite the recent quarterly performance [3] - The success of "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle," which grossed $312 million in the second quarter, previously contributed positively to SPE's financials [3]

As creator of The Night Agent, Shawn Ryan, who adapted the Netflix series from Matthew Quirk’s novel of the same name, wrote the pilot script, which became the series premiere. He also wrote Episode 2 and co-wrote Episode 3 of the first season and also wrote the Season 2 premiere. But Ryan is not credited as a writer or co-writer on any of the 10 episodes from the upcoming third season, premiering Feb. 19, which is unusual as he serves as showrunner on the action thriller starring Gabriel Basso. Ryan, a pr ...

Snap saw its daily active users fall by 3 million to 474 million in the fourth quarter as the social media platform said it substantially reduced marketing investments “to focus on more profitable growth.” Net income surged to $45.2 million from the $9.1 million the year before. The shares, which can be volatile after earnings, rose in after-market trading on the numbers. “Our Q4 results began to reflect the impact of our strategic pivot toward profitable growth, translating into revenue diversification an ...

A seven-game World Series last October and continued strength at Fox News and streaming service Tubi helped Fox Corp. top revenue expectations in the October-to-December quarter. The company said Wednesday that total revenue in the fiscal second quarter inched up 2% from the year-ago period, reaching $5.18 billion. Earnings per share came in at 52 cents, and 81 cents when adjusted for one-time gains and expenses. Wall Street analysts had expected earnings per share of 52 cents and revenue of $5.03 billion. ...

Wall Street has greeted Disney‘s CEO succession news with a shrug, with analysts nodding in approval of Josh D’Amaro’s promotion but not bursting into applause. The media giant’s beleaguered stock, which has essentially been stuck in the mud since 2022, drifted down a fraction of a percentage point Tuesday to close at $103.81. On Monday, shares fell nearly 7.5%, a sharp pullback for the large-cap Dow component, in the wake of disconcerting projections in the company’s fiscal first-quarter earnings report. ...

Disney chairman James Gorman said the board’s decision to name Josh D’Amaro sole chief executive and Dana Walden President and Chief Creative Officer was a thorough process but one where consideration of co-CEOs was over rather quickly. The former Morgan Stanley chair known for overseeing a buttery-smooth CEO transition at the giant investment bank, is not a fan of the structure. “We considered everything because we felt this was the time we had to get this right, and I was absolutely committed to being th ...

Executive Compensation - Incoming CEO Josh D'Amaro will have an annual base salary of $2.5 million, with a target incentive bonus of 250% of the base salary, and a long-term stock incentive of $26.25 million for each fiscal year [1] - Newly appointed President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden will receive an annual base salary of $3.75 million, with a target bonus of 200% of that, and a long-term stock award of $15.75 million for each full fiscal year [2] Contract Details - Both D'Amaro and Walden will begin their roles after the March 18 annual shareholders meeting, with Walden's contract running through March 2030 [3] - Outgoing CEO Bob Iger's contract has been amended; he will continue as a Senior Advisor after March 18, stepping away from the CEO role earlier than the previously set expiration at the end of 2026 [3]